Social Safety Nets in Chile
3. Coordination of Agencies for Social Protection
Chile has aimed to coordinate agencies and networks in order to harmonize and coordinate social protection efforts and has made substantial progress toward ensuring social rights for people in need. Social assistance focused on covering the basic needs of the poor has been replaced by a social protection entitlement approach. The set of programs that guarantee social rights are coordinated by a social protection network called Red Protege (Protection Network). This involves different programs for every basic social right, with one common denominator, the intervention unit is the household. Moreover, coverage has a life cycle approach, interventions prioritize enhancement over assistance, and the law secures social rights.18
The first program to become part of this network was Chile Solidario. Initially, in 2003, this program focused on poverty reduction, but its role has grown over time to cover other people at risk. This program, which provides benefits for only two years, was created to build beyond cash transfers to strengthen overall social protection for the most vulnerable, ensuring families learn how to make effective use of the social protection network. The program’s conditional cash transfers are temporary catalysts in order to help establish permanent links between the most vulnerable households and the broader permanent social protection network. They are guided to a wide range of benefits and supporting services, such as housing, child benefits, training and labor market inclusion programs, that can potentially help them to escape social and economic exclusion.19
Components involve income security as well as access to essential services for all household members. An example is Chile grows along with you (Chile Crece Contigo), a childbirth program launched in 2007, which was designed to protect pregnant women and children under four years old. This program recognizes the critical role that living conditions play in the early years in influencing social determinants of health.
The network has gained legitimacy and consensus through a long and intensive political process strengthened with a legal framework backing the program. The institutional process began with discussions and analysis of social protection reform in Presidential Advisory Committees. There was a degree of technical and political agreement among relevant stakeholders when the executive branch submitted the bills to the National Congress for approval. The law also secures Red Protege funding, with the legal framework that supports the programs establishing the financial commitment required for their implementation.20
18 Social Protection Floor for a Fair and Inclusive Globalization, Report of the Advisory Group chaired by Michelle Bachelet convened by the ILO with collaboration of the WHO, International Labour Organization 2011, p. 52.
19 Ribe, Helena, David Robalino and Ian Walker, (2012), From Right to Reality Incentives, Labor Markets, and the Challenge of Universal Social Protection in Latin America and The Caribbean, Washington D.C.,The World Bank, p. 337.
20 Social Protection Floor for a Fair and Inclusive Globalization, Report of the Advisory Group chaired by Michelle Bachelet convened by the ILO with collaboration of the WHO, International Labour Organization 2011, p. 52.
Since 1979, the main instrument used to focalize resources on families that need to be assisted with social programs has been the Ficha CAS, (file card based on the CASEN socio-economic survey) that changed its name to Ficha de Protección Social (Social Protection File Card). Even though it has suffered changes it has always been intended to measure socio-economic levels of living and difficulties and stands as a good example of how technology and knowledge can help promote social inclusion.21 Modifications to the CASEN socio-economic survey announced by the Chilean Government that will likely be implemented in 2014 should assure the correct identification of the individuals and families that should be beneficiaries of social protection.
As an example of the Chilean safety net, we can mention the programs delivered by the National Board for Students Aid and Scholarships (Junta Nacional de Auxilio Escolar y Becas, JUNAEB) that assist children and young students in need that are living in vulnerable conditions. Among the services offered to the beneficiaries of the program are education scholarships, which has historically been one of the main objectives of the program.
In 1990s, the democratic governments reestablished the health program for students, and special programs for public summer camps and student housing. Between 1990 and 2000 public funding was doubled giving coverage to 1.5 million beneficiaries of its school feeding program. In 2002, the United Nations recognized this program as one of the top programs in world.
The services offered by JUNAEB include programs on nutrition, health, housing, recreation, education, scholarships and others.
An effective model to tackle social exclusion implies a system of cross sectorial management that includes identification of all benefits of the social protection network, formal agreements between institutions that provide services to the same beneficiaries and the sharing of targeting and beneficiary selection systems.22
During 2012, an Ethical Family Income Bill came into force. This new law creates a system of financial support and bonuses for families living in extreme poverty and a subsidy for working women.
The Ethical Family Income project is aimed to assist 640,000 Chileans who live in extreme poverty and includes, in case of being eligible, financial support to the emerging middle class, benefiting over a million families in the country.
This project, which has an estimated cost of US$400 million a year, is based upon three pillars: 1) Payment of a basic dignity award in which everybody living in extreme poverty is automatically eligible; 2) Duties (individuals living in extreme poverty will be awarded in case they fulfill certain responsibilities, such as, taking their children under 6
21 Social Protection Floor for a Fair and Inclusive Globalization, Report of the Advisory Group chaired by Michelle Bachelet convened by the ILO with collaboration of the WHO, International Labour Organization 2011, p. 85-86.
22 From Right to Reality Incentives, Labor Markets, and the Challenge of Social Protection in Latin America and The Caribbean, p. 339-340.
years old to the health clinic for check-ups (Control Niño Sano program) and if their children record at least an 85% attendance rate at school; 3) Awards for Achievements, in which the 30% of families with the lowest incomes in the country are eligible in case they achieve certain goals related to education and employment. The School Achievement Award is paid to families if their children are ranked among the top 15% tier in their year (a transfer of about US$100) or approximately US$60 of they are in the top 30% tier. The second award is The Female Employment Subsidy, paid to working women aged between 25 and 59 years old, from 1,380,000 low-income families in which the State pays an extra 20% to supplement the woman’s wages, plus a 10% bonus to the employer in order to incentivize companies to employ women. The supplement to women’s wages can last a maximum of four years and the bonus paid to the employer a maximum of 24 months.23
Source: Government of Chile (May 2012)
23 http://www.gob.cl/english/government-information.htm